WINSTON-SALEM — Danny Manning’s formal introduction as Wake Forest men’s basketball coach included pizza with his new players, a news conference with reporters and a welcoming party on the campus grounds.

He made quite the entrance at that final stop Tuesday night, arriving on the back of a Harley-Davidson as the Demon Deacons mascot, chauffeuring Manning, revved the motorcycle’s engine for effect while they cruised into the university’s main quad.

The band cranked up the school’s fight song, the cheerleaders bounced into gear and soon Manning was receiving a tie-dyed shirt from students in the Screamin’ Demons club and heartfelt shout-outs from older supporters, before conducting a question-and-answer session that ended with him signing autographs and posing for photos.

If part of Manning’s challenge in reviving Wake Forest is repairing a fractured fan base — splintered after three straight losing seasons that preceded this season’s 17-16 mark under Jeff Bzdelik, the coach he has replaced — then Tuesday’s processional of events seemed like a fine start for the onetime prep phenom at Greensboro Page High School.

“I’m not that aware of it. I’ve got an idea,” Manning said of the fan unrest that came to define Bzdelik’s four-season tenure. “But I can’t control what happened in the past. I can just look forward and go from here.

“I’m excited. I’m going to come in every day and put forth a great effort. It’s not going to be easy. But I’m willing to roll up my sleeves, and let’s go get it.”

Tuesday became symbolized by homecoming in some ways and in others, connecting the past with the future for the 47-year-old Manning, the Tulsa coach who Wake Forest hired Friday, exactly 26 years after he powered Kansas to the 1988 NCAA title.

The 6-foot-10, former No. 1 draft pick and NBA player of 15 years stretched the microphone arm way up to its peak point before immediately diving into the Demon Deacons’ basketball history with reporters and listing revered names that ranged from legendary coach Bones McKinney to star Rodney Rogers.

“I’m very fond of Wake,” Manning said. “I’m very honored to be following those great men and coaches. … It feels great to be back. To be able to make a decision to come back to this area, North Carolina, where basketball is so special, Tobacco Road, I’ve lived it. I’ve been a part of it. And thanks to my late father, it’s in my blood.”

For Manning, Tuesday began in Oklahoma, where he went 38-29 with two postseason berths in his two seasons at Tulsa, capped by this year’s trip to the NCAA Tournament, which ended a drought since 2003 for the Golden Hurricane.

Page 2 of 2 - He said he woke up to a text message from John Newman, a former Greensboro Page teammate, who reminisced about a game against Winston-Salem Reynolds during Page’s 1982-83 state championship season in which then-Wake Forest coach Carl Tacy memorably was stationed on the baseline for warm-ups.

By 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, Newman was among the hundreds gathered here for “Mann the Quad” to salute the Demon Deacons’ latest coach. He was flanked by Will Walker, another ex-Greensboro Page teammate, who has family ties to Wake Forest.

Walker wore a button that read “DMann Deacon” as Manning fielded questions from the crowd beneath Reynolda Hall, a building that overlooks the part of campus that traditionally is streamed with toilet paper in celebration of special victories.

“I think this is awesome,” said Walker, whose father was an undergraduate and law school student at Wake Forest. “I grew up in the Deacon Club, so I want to see them get back to their winning ways. And I think what he’s done at Tulsa and the experience he had at Kansas, I think it’s a great fit.”

Newman, still known to old friends as “Big John,” said he first saw Manning on a basketball court while they were growing up in Greensboro, when Newman was 11 years old and Manning was 10.

Nearly four decades later, they have remained consistently in contact.

“When he played (in the NBA) and would come into town with Charlotte,” Newman said, “I’d always go hang out with him a little bit.”

Newman said he couldn’t help but be delighted when he heard Manning’s name connected with the Wake Forest opening, after Bzdelik was out of the job March 20.

“Very excited, because I think Wake Forest is getting a quality person and potentially a really great basketball coach,” Newman said. “I think it’ll be a win-win for everybody involved.”